Swing leg anchor molds



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ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,159,900 SWING LEG ANCHSR MOLDS John Dale Pafenherg, 5714 Birch Ave., McLean, Va. Filed Sept. 17, 1963, Ser. No. 309,559 1 Claim. (Cl. 25-118) This invention relates to molds for swing leg anchor members, and is a continuation-in-part of Serial vNo. 240,672, filed November 28, 1962.

Childrens yard swing sets are enjoying commercial popularity, and provide an inexpensive recreational outlet for the energies of children that is useful in promoting their physical well-being. A typical swing set is purchased in knocked-down form and assembled at home for.

use in the yard. The framework is generally of hollow pipe construction, and is made up of a main horizontal member supported at its ends by pairs of diverging leg members. When swings are attached to the main horizontal member, the stability of the device is dependent upon the degree of divergence of the supporting legs. If the legs of each pair are widely spaced at their bottoms, then the entire structure is more stable and less likely to rock or move about when the swings are used. The small pipe members generally used in such constructions, together with the weight of the children and their vigorous activities, cause the ends of the legs to become embedded in the ground and tear up the lawn surface. Also, the entire structure tends to change its position because of the rocking motion produced in swinging.

In permanent installations, such as school yards and the like, the problems mentioned above are solved by embedding the ends of the leg members securely in the ground so that the structure cannot move. This usually involves the digging of large holes in which the legs are placed, often attached to buried weights, and, when the job is finished the swings may not be moved about or taken down. In accordance with the present invention the desirable attributes of the knocked-down and permanent type swing sets are combined in a structure that has the disadvantages of neither.

A feature of the present invention is the provision of a mold form which permits the easy application of anchor weights to swing leg members.

Another feature of this invention is the provision of an inexpensive mold form for attaching anchor weights by the ultimate user of a swing set, thereby avoiding the inconvenience and expense of storing and transporting anchor Weights prior to use.

A further feature of the invention is the provision of a mold for attaching anchor weights to swing leg members which is incorporated permanently in the anchor weight and provides a decorative outer covering.

The principles of the invention may be utilized in various forms, but in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention a mold form is provided which comprises a waterproof paper'member shaped as the frustum of a cone. The bottom of the mold is closed to form a container for the insertion of a swing leg, and the opening at the top is elongated to accommodate a swing leg with provision for pouring concrete into the mold after the swing leg is in place. The size of the conical member is chosen in accordance with the volume of the material to be placed within the member, thereby determining ultimately the weight anchoring each swing leg. The water proofing is accomplished by impregnating the paper mold with a composition comprising a mineral wax and a petroleum polymer resin.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanyin g drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a mold in place around a swing leg;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the mold taken along line 33 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view similar to that of FIG. 2 with the swing leg and poured concrete in place; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the mold with the concrete and swing leg in place taken along lines 44 of FIG. 3.

The invention will be understood more readily by making reference to the drawing in which a mold is shown as comprising a molded paper pulp form having a bottom closure member 3 to define a container for receiving a swing leg 5 through an opening 7 in the top thereof. A slight conical taper is provided to give the overall appearance of the frustum of a cone, but it will be understood that the walls of the mold may be cylindrical without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The mold is formed by a vacuum molding process using Wet paper pulp. After the upper portion 1 is formed, it is impregnated with 26% to 37% of a composition containing by weight to parts of mineral wax and 5 to 30 parts of petroleum polymer resin. The impregnation is accomplished by immersing the mold in a bath of the composition maintained at a temperature of F. to 250 F. The mold form is then removed and heated to 250 F. to remove any excess of the impregnating composition. The mineral WaX used may be paraifin, and the petroleum polymer resin may be the resin described in Canadian Patent 531,202 of October 2, 1956.

After the upper member 1 has been impregnated, the closure member 3 is fastened to the bottom by a suit-able adhesive, the closure 3 having been treated with a composition similar to the treatment given the upper member 1.

The opening 7 is elongated so that the swing leg 5 may be inserted and still leave room to pour a concrete mixture 9 into the interior of the mold form so that it completely surrounds leg member 5. After the concrete mixture has hardened, the mold form may be stripped oif, since the impregnating composition prevents bonding of the concrete to the mold form interior. However, it may be desirable to leave the mold form in place as a perma nent part of the swing leg, and when this is done a suitable coloring material may be added to the paper pulp as it is molded, or to the impregnating composition as the mold is treated to give a decorative effect to the mold. The vacuum molding process produces a roughly textured finish, as indicated in FIG. 1 on the exterior of the mold form so that an attractive and desirable appearance is presented.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing description that the present invention provides an easily applied means for anchoring yard swing sets. The swing legs are held securely in place when the swing is in use, yet the swing remains portable and may be removed to a new location with a minimum of effort. The use of swing leg anchors prevents long wear in one spot as is typical with permanently installed swings, and facilitates lawn mowing, since the swings may be moved easily. The large bottom area of the legs prevents the swing legs from digging into the y ground and the swing is held in proper operating posi- While the invention has been shown and described with 5 particular reference to a single embodiment, it' will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

A mold form for attaching anchoring weights to the leg members of swings comprising a hollow frusto-conical body member of molded paper pulp having a coloring material incorporated therein and a roughly textured surface to produce a decorative effect, top and bottom openings in said body member, said top opening being elongated so that the leg member of a swing may be inserted and still leave room to pour a concrete mixture into said body members, and a base member attached to said body member to serve as a closure for'said bottom opening, said 20 base member being disposed at an obtuse angle to the axis of said hollow body member to provide an enlarged support surface and said body member being impregnated with a composition containing by weight 70 to 95 parts of paraflin-and 5 to 30 parts of petroleum polymer resin to produce a durable waterproof mold form of inexpensive construction.

7 References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 260,961 7/82 F1ickinger 50 1s9 316,599 4/85 Brinly etal 50-189 783,703 2/05 Porter .50 1s9 1,394,255 10/21 Davis 25-122 2,091,180 8/37 Magill 260-28 FOREIGN PATENTS 69,535 2/52 Netherlands.

MICHAEL V. BRINDISI, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT F. WHITE, Examiner. 

